Process of forming bursting charges



C. L. REESE.

PROCESS OF FORMING BURSTING CHARGES.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.11. I918.

1,307,599. Patented June 21, 1919.

and do hereby'declar'e that the ollowing is UNITED STATES PATENT. oF IoE.

CHARLES L. REESE, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR TO E. I. Dr! PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANY, OF WIIMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PROCESS OF FORMING BURSTING- CHARGES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 119 24 1919.

Application filed August 17, 1918. Serial No. 250,336.

T 0 all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES L REESE, of lVilmington, in the county of New Castle, and in the State of Delaware, have invented a certain new and. useful Improvement in Processes of Forming Burstin Charges;

a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to processes of forming bursting charges for containers intended to be exploded, such as shells, grenades, torpedoes, mines, etc.

The object of the invention is to provide a process of forming such a bursting charge which shall have, among others, the advantages of rendering available new sources of raw materials; of providing materials capable of being used for the purpose, either by themselves or with-others; and of providing a process by which said mixtures can be cast into shells or other containers intended to be exploded, and there caused to solidify and completely fill the space provided for the charge.

'In the accompanying drawing,

The figureis an axial section of a shell "containing a bursting charge embodying my invention.

The invention is capable of being carried out in many different Ways, but for the purpose of illustration only one form of the invention will be described herein.

In filling with bursting charges containers intended to be exploded, such as shells,

grenades, torpedoes, mines, etc., it is desirable to introduce the largest possible charge into a given space, so as to produce the maximum. posslble bursting effect.

Trinitrotoluol has heretofore been used to a very large extent, because, among other reaand is, therefore, easily melted; it can be kept melted while being introducedtinto the shell or other body, and it does not freeze or solidify until it has reachedv the final condition in which it is to remain. The supply of trinitrotoluol, however, may not be adequate, and it is very desirable to render other materials available to replace the trinitrotoluol wholly or in part.

I have discovered a new bursting charge for the said purpose, which is of high power, and which may consist wholly of a new substance, or of such sub tance combined with it, as a practical manner, to be melted and cast into the shell. I have, therefore, invented a process by which the said substance can, in effect, become part of a molten mass of'such low melting point as to'be capable of being successfully cast into the shell.

The new substance to which I refer is roduced by the nitration of aromatic hydrocarbons of the' benzene series, having a higher boiling point than toluene, and, in particular, by the nitration of xylene. The nitration is accomplished by the use of strong nitric and sulfuric acid, and the action is preferably so controlled as to produce a solid, finely-divided product. I find that when starting with'xylene I am able to prepare a solid nitroxylene, which approximates trinitroxylene in composition. This product can be detonated by ordinary commercial detonators, and has an explosive force nearly equal to that of trinitrotoluol. In charging a shell, the nitroxylene may be lpressed into the shell in a dry condition, ma ing a compact-charge which is readily detonated by the usual primer, or it may be mixed with another nitro compound, such for example as trinitrotoluol.

In order to get the effect of completel casting. the shell or other containerfull of the explosive, I mix the said aromatic nitro bodies made from the aromatic hydrocarbons having boiling points higher than toluol with more easily fusible nitro bodies, such as trinitrotoluol, and cast the mixture together into the shell. For example, amixture of approximately 40% nitroxylene and 60% trinitrotoluol can be thus cast. Desirable proportions are 50 to 70 parts of trinitrotoluol and 50 to 30 ylene.

In the figure of the accompanying drawing, I have shown more or less diagrammatically, a shell body 1, having within it a bursting charge 2, such as I have described,

parts of nit-rox-. I

and having a fuse 3 containing, a detonator I prepared for casting by melting the trinitrotoluol and to this melted product adding the is obtained as if the more difli'cultly fusible nitro bodies were melted and cast intothe shell or other container, if that were feasible.

The trinitrotoluol used may be either a crude product, such as obtained by direct nitration of toluol, or a product obtained by refining the crude product. The mixture is solid trinitroxylol, keeping the temperature of the mixture well above the-melting point of the trinitrotoluol. Thorough mixing of the two explosives can-be carried out by any suitable method of mechanical agitation, or simply by stirring with a paddle by hand. Only a very small proportion of the trinitroxylol is soluble in or melted by the trinitrotoluol.

It is not necessary that the mixture produce a homogeneous liquid. product, but the trinitroxylol can be added in very appreciable amounts until the mixture carries a maximum percentage of trinitroxylol in carrying 60% of triton and 40% of trinitrosuspension; The maximum percentage that can be added in suspension is determined by whether the mixture can be, poured. Such a mixture is, as stated, represented by one xylol, such a mixture pouring nicely at about 80 C. Higher percentages of trinitroxylol can be used, especially if higher temperatures are employed, and lower percentages of trinitroxylol, of course, can be used satisfactorily. I prefer, however, the 6040 mixture, inasmuch as it produces a mixture that can be easily poured and gives a casting of excellent physical and explosive properties;

This invention thus makes it possible as completely to fill ashell With a charge consisting partly of the more diflicultly fusible nitro bodies as ithas heretofore been possible to fill them with the more easily fusible nitro bodies, and in particular furnishes substitutes for trinitrotoluol by which bursting v an explosive con-tainer with a nitrated hydrocarbon of the benzene'series having a melting pointhigher than that of trinitrotoluol by mixing the first-mentioned sub stance with a lower melting nitrated hydrocarbon while molten, and pouring the mixture into a container.

The process Whichcomprises charging an explosive container with a nitratedhydrocarbon of the benzene series having a melting point higher than that of trinitrotoluol by mixing the first-mentioned substance with molten trinitrotoluol, and pouring the mixture into a container.

4. The process which comprises charging an explosive container with a nitrated xylene by mixing it with an easily fusible nitro body, and pouring the mixture into the container while the latter nitro body is in a molten condition.

5. The process which comprises charging an explosive container with a nitrated xylene having a melting point higher than that of trinitrotoluol by mixing the first-mentioned substance with a lower melting nitrated hydrocarbon while molten, and pouring the mixture into a container.

6. -The process which comprises char ing.

an explosive container with a nitrated xy ene having a melting point higher thanthat'of trinitrotoluol by mixing the'first-mentioned substance 'with molten trinitrotoluol, and

pourin the mixture into a container.

7. T. e process which comprises charging an explosive container with 'a solid nitrated xylene by mixing it with an-easily fusible nitro body, and pouring the mixture into the container while the latter nitro body is in a molten condition.

8. The process which comprises charging an explosive "container with asolid nitrated xylene having a melting point higher than that of trinitrotoluol by mixing the firstmentioned substance with a lower melting nitrated hydrocarbon while molten, and

'. pouring the mixture into a container. process which comprlses charging 9. The

an exploslve container with a solid nitrated xylene having amelting point higher than that of trinitrotoluol by mixing the firstmentioned substance with molten trinitrotoluol, and pouring the mixture into a container. f

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES L. REESE.

Witnesses: I

G. D. HOPKINS, F. BI Gamer. 

